String recommendation hybrid & poly for new racquets - technifibre tf40

[swinger]

Hi, Can I please get some recommendations for strings to try. I’m getting a pair of Technofibre TF40 305 16x19 racquets.

I’m an aggressive baseline/all court player. Like to slice and hit deep heavy topspin balls as well as sharp angles…

I have an extreme western forehand - grip racquet in palm with pinky almost off… use same grip for one handed backhand….

I’ve been playing with prostaff 97 v10 since 2014 but decided I wanted a more maneuverable racquet which is more adequate for modern strokes - forehand in particular…also the ps97 allowed me to hit heavy topspin shots but it was less effective with sharp angles… also the 11.7 ounce weight would fatigue my shoulder… the tf40 305 16x19seems to work really well - it’s whippy has good stability for its weight class and is very comfortable to hit with - perhaps a touch muted but still feels very connected when striking the ball…and is very spin friendly…

My go to string setup for ps97 has been babolat vs touch 16/17 in crosses at 58 lbs and various poly strings in mains at 53/54 lbs… this setup kept me pain free…

I tried several demos all poly many at mid tension (which wasn’t very comfortable due to stiffness) also on many occasions with worn out poly (which felt dead at times) so my arm is a bit fatigued from the last two months of demoing full poly…

nonetheless - the technifibre TF40 305 I demo’d felt very comfortable with a full bed of ice code which was probably 48 lbs or lower due to age of poly/tension loss (originally strung at 50 lbs) - great ball pocketing, good spin that dipped serves and groundies and no stiffness at all…even when I was somewhat lazy with slower racquethead speed topspin balls were dipping in.

so my thought is to get one racquet full poly and one hybrid - natural gut crosses and poly mains…

1. Full poly - can you please advise me on a comfortable poly that can be strung around 48 lbs or lower - looking for strong topspin and slices and feel (ball pocketing), control is more important than power. I don’t mind stringing often as long as I can get 10 hours of play but needs to be comfortable for sure… at least as much as ice code. Have heard good things about ytex Quadro twist and ytex square x both on the comfy side…

2. Hybrid - for crosses I’d like to use babolat vs touch 16 or 17… for mains can use any poly that is control oriented and has good spin and compliments natural gut well… tension maintenance needs to be better as I’d like to restring less often since natural gut in the crosses is pricy… one option is razor code…since it plays somewhat similar to ice code but has even more control… given I’ll need to tame the power of natural gut. Are there any poly strings for mains that work well with natural gut on crosses. Also I’m unsure of what tension to use… thinking of 55 lbs natural gut (was using 58 lbs on prostaff 97 but tf40 is lighter and so has less heft behind it) so thinking it will have less power on driving topspin shots… on poly mains not sure how low I can get away with to have similar control to a full body of poly @ 48lbs…have heard good things about Solinco confidential, alu power (may not have enough tension maintenance though), signum pro firestorm (hearing it play similar to alu power but has better tension maintenance).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated… realize stings are very individual as everyone has different tastes but looking for a bit of direction…

 

[NewcomerfromBalkan]

Im playing with Rs 305 for about a year.There are common specs beetwen your frame and mine.But yours i think have much more spin potential and little more head light specs(i did not try so this is just opinion based on reciews).
I tried a lot polys but if you want control on 48 tension you can go wih Luxilon BBO,head lynx tour or razor code.These strings give me control and confidence on all strokes especially on serve and slice.I tried hyper g soft also litlle liveier for my taste.Solinco tour bit is also great option if you dont have sensitive arm.For gut poly hybrid i tried once with Pacific Tough Gut 1.25 on mains and tf red code 1.20 at crosses its very powerful difficult to control sometimes even at high tension around 53/51.Reverse hybrid that i tried is Rpm Rough 1.25 on mains and Tough gut 1.25
There are softer and plays good with spin of RPM Rough and power and control and feel from gut's crosses.Full bed poly is better option for me in general.

 

[Trip]

Hi swinger,

Just to brace you, you're going to get a ton of suggestions here, many with likely little to no explanation, so weigh them accordingly -- mine included.

That said, I'll base my recommendations off of Ice Code (1.25 gauge, I presume?). All strings below will be very close in behavior, just with varying amounts of better performance and very close in comfort.

1) Full Poly - I would check out Mayami Tour Hex 1.23 and Genesis Hexonic Power Yellow 1.23. I've played with both. The hexagonal (6-sided) profiles and slick snapback will give you noticeably better spin, while retaining control and almost as predictable a launch response as a round string. Although each is a tad lower on comfort, they're also a bit more controlled and lower-powered, so you can string both around 5% lower tension to create effectively similar comfort, control and power, but have a much spinnier, longer-lasting string bed. I'd have to imagine they'd be good for at least 10 hours, especially in a 98" 18x20. I know charts and data are no substitute for actually playing the string, but I find the RacketPedia comparison to Ice Code correlates really close to real-life playability (click to enlarge):

​

2) Poly Main for Gut crosses - First off, I know this is an old debate, but any particular reason you like gut in the crosses and not the mains? Obviously the power will be lower, but that can be addressed by stringing gut mains higher, plus gut in the mains tends to yields much better feel, higher snapback/spin and more longevity for the gut, provided it's paired with an appropriately gentle, slick, round/round-ish poly. Regardless of your preference for where to put the gut (I respect both main or cross), I would avoid excessively sharp/shaped poly's, as many of them may saw through the gut more quickly than desired, locking the string bed and potentially sending playability off a cliff, even before 10 hours. For something similar to Ice Code to pair with gut, I would look at Tier One Ghostwire, in 1.22 if you play 17G gut, 1.27 for 16G gut (I know our fellow experienced stringer @g4driver would agree with Ghostwire). If you want to firm up the string bed and lower the power a bit more per gauge, I'd look at Kirschbaum Max Power as well. Both GW and MP are tops for tension maintenance and will be fairly gentle on the gut (especially Ghostwire), so the likelihood of getting 10+ hours out of the setup is very good.

Hope that helps. Any questions, feel free!

 

[veelium]

Why don't use just use ice code if you liked it? It's a solid string all around.
Isospeed black fire is a solid choice as well and not very expensive in a reel.

I don't personally care for gut in the crosses so not recommendations there.
If you put it in the mains, I always found wilson revolve to be a solid cross string. In some ways similar to ice code, not too stiff, round.
Haven't tried it in a full bed though.

I'm using a TF40 305 too atm, 18x20 though.
Frame goes well with low tension, for full poly I go down to ~40 lbs depending on the string. Might be a bit low in the 16x19 though.

 

[swinger]

Im playing with Rs 305 for about a year.There are common specs beetwen your frame and mine.But yours i think have much more spin potential and little more head light specs(i did not try so this is just opinion based on reciews).
I tried a lot polys but if you want control on 48 tension you can go wih Luxilon BBO,head lynx tour or razor code.These strings give me control and confidence on all strokes especially on serve and slice.I tried hyper g soft also litlle liveier for my taste.Solinco tour bit is also great option if you dont have sensitive arm.For gut poly hybrid i tried once with Pacific Tough Gut 1.25 on mains and tf red code 1.20 at crosses its very powerful difficult to control sometimes even at high tension around 53/51.Reverse hybrid that i tried is Rpm Rough 1.25 on mains and Tough gut 1.25
There are softer and plays good with spin of RPM Rough and power and control and feel from gut's crosses.Full bed poly is better option for me in general.

Thx NewcomerfromBalkan!
Is Luxilon BBO arm friendly? I think I tried head lynx tour on a head radical mp demo - that is def a good option too - was really easy to redirect pace using slices and I felt like I was really knifing them with that string - topspin shots also had a lot of jump with that string on the radical MP demo… and crisp sounding at contact too - the crisp part I’m not sure if it’s the string or the racquet’s quality? (sidebar: radical MP was a great racquet demo - high launch angle on deep groundies but also able to hit sharp short angles - also very stable and enjoyable - great serving stick too… I just couldn’t get my one handed backhand to gel with it though - felt awkward through the air…)
I heard ice code is more comfortable than razor code so that’s why I was thinking ice code more as a contender but razor code is similar in general but has even more control and is the superior string apparently… I haven’t compared the two myself to know how much more comfortable ice code is to razor code…
Did the RPM rough hold tension well in the hybrid setup with NG in the crosses? Which tension did you use for this setup? Did you have sufficient control with NG crosses and poly mains? I’m thinking 55lb for NG as NG still hold its properties (ball pocketing and comfort) at high tensions (even in the 60s) but not sure how high to take the poly… some Tf 40 users have done 55/45 for NG/poly - seems potentially risky though…

 

[swinger]

Hi swinger,

Just to brace you, you're going to get a ton of suggestions here, many with likely little to no explanation, so weigh them accordingly -- mine included.

That said, I'll base my recommendations off of Ice Code (1.25 gauge, I presume?). All strings below will be very close in behavior, just with varying amounts of better performance and very close in comfort.

1) Full Poly - I would check out Mayami Tour Hex 1.23 and Genesis Hexonic Power Yellow 1.23. I've played with both. The hexagonal (6-sided) profiles and slick snapback will give you noticeably better spin, while retaining control and almost as predictable a launch response as a round string. Although each is a tad lower on comfort, they're also a bit more controlled and lower-powered, so you can string both around 5% lower tension to create effectively similar comfort, control and power, but have a much spinnier, longer-lasting string bed. I'd have to imagine they'd be good for at least 10 hours, especially in a 98" 18x20. I know charts and data are no substitute for actually playing the string, but I find the RacketPedia comparison to Ice Code correlates really close to real-life playability (click to enlarge):

​

2) Poly Main for Gut crosses - First off, I know this is an old debate, but any particular reason you like gut in the crosses and not the mains? Obviously the power will be lower, but that can be addressed by stringing gut mains higher, plus gut in the mains tends to yields much better feel, higher snapback/spin and more longevity for the gut, provided it's paired with an appropriately gentle, slick, round/round-ish poly. Regardless of your preference for where to put the gut (I respect both main or cross), I would avoid excessively sharp/shaped poly's, as many of them may saw through the gut more quickly than desired, locking the string bed and potentially sending playability off a cliff, even before 10 hours. For something similar to Ice Code to pair with gut, I would look at Tier One Ghostwire, in 1.22 if you play 17G gut, 1.27 for 16G gut (I know our fellow experienced stringer @g4driver would agree with Ghostwire). If you want to firm up the string bed and lower the power a bit more per gauge, I'd look at Kirschbaum Max Power as well. Both GW and MP are tops for tension maintenance and will be fairly gentle on the gut (especially Ghostwire), so the likelihood of getting 10+ hours out of the setup is very good.

Hope that helps. Any questions, feel free!

Thanks Trip!
On the ice code - it was a TW demo racquet - they string poly at mid tension minus 2lbs - implying it was strung at 50 lbs when fresh. The strings had some wear and were probably below 48lbs by the time I demo’d the frame... Ink was total worn off so I couldn’t tell if it was 1.25 or 1.3. It was probably 1.25 though. I will probably go down to 1.2 for the full poly setup whether it’s ice code or any other strings for added spin and comfort…
So basically I can go down to 45 lbs with Mayami Tour Hex 1.23 and Genesis Hexonic Power Yellow 1.23 if roughly 48 lbs worked well with ice code? How would you compare the two in terms real world playing characteristics? On the graphs it seems Genesis is more “stable” not sure in what sense… my racquet btw is the 16x19 rather than 18x20 but I imagine everything you said still holds true for my version..?

I haven’t tried natural gut in the mains - I have always thought that the mains dictate playability… since I’m looking for control and spin from my strings I have always opted for poly in the mains… I don’t need the power of natural gut - only reason I use it is for comfort (on the ps 97 it took away the stiffness discomfort completely vs full poly) and I got more ball pocketing with the hybrid (although admittedly I never experimented low tension full poly with prostaff 97 as I was already getting sufficient power with it…do I have it right in terms of approach or does gut main work differently than how I imagine it? I’ll try Tier One Ghostwire and Kirschbaum Max Power. Do you think maybe it’s better to go for Kirschbaum so I can go even lower tension on mains? Is 55 lb NG crosses 45 Kirschbaum a good setup at similar control levels to full bed ice code @48 lbs as a reference? On the hybrid frame I would hope for somewhat longer playability on poly than 10 hours if possible.. thanks again!

 

[NewcomerfromBalkan]

I think that BBO and Head lynx tour plays similar because Head lynx tour plays sometimes like a round profile poly.I dont know what is your level,i am not in US,i dont have ranking or smth i just play in club for about 10 years on clay.I am not BIG guy have just 72 kgs and skinny legs like Gilles simon for example. But i Can handle BBO lux on 26/25 kgs on RS 305 its depends to tecnique but i use at the moment at 23 or 22 because of lacking power a little at high tensions.IF you are not string breaker you can try Razor at 1,20 gauge on higher tension freely its not uncomfortable for sure(i didnt try ice code).RPM rough is weird string,sometimes is soft sometimes stiff.I used 24/23 kg for gut/poly and identical for Poly/gut in reverse with red code at crosses.Pacific tough still have a ton of power I Will try with BBO at crosses at 25/23 or smth i think that would be dominant combo ,Pacific tough gut is not soft gut like others,that the reason why i didnt go higher on 18x19 string pattern.

 

[swinger]

Why don't use just use ice code if you liked it? It's a solid string all around.
Isospeed black fire is a solid choice as well and not very expensive in a reel.

I don't personally care for gut in the crosses so not recommendations there.
If you put it in the mains, I always found wilson revolve to be a solid cross string. In some ways similar to ice code, not too stiff, round.
Haven't tried it in a full bed though.

I'm using a TF40 305 too atm, 18x20 though.
Frame goes well with low tension, for full poly I go down to ~40 lbs depending on the string. Might be a bit low in the 16x19 though.

Thanks Veelium!
Ice code is def a great backup and a string that will work well for me…I’ve just never gone full bed poly before so just exploring what else is out there that’s worth experimenting with.
No experience with gut in the mains - need to think about that - my concern is too much power though if in the mains…

 

[Mircat]

I’m excited to try Lynx Tour mains with hawk power crosses in the blade v8.

 

[swinger]

I think that BBO and Head lynx tour plays similar because Head lynx tour plays sometimes like a round profile poly.I dont know what is your level,i am not in US,i dont have ranking or smth i just play in club for about 10 years on clay.I am not BIG guy have just 72 kgs and skinny legs like Gilles simon for example. But i Can handle BBO lux on 26/25 kgs on RS 305 its depends to tecnique but i use at the moment at 23 or 22 because of lacking power a little at high tensions.IF you are not string breaker you can try Razor at 1,20 gauge on higher tension freely its not uncomfortable for sure(i didnt try ice code).RPM rough is weird string,sometimes is soft sometimes stiff.I used 24/23 kg for gut/poly and identical for Poly/gut in reverse with red code at crosses.Pacific tough still have a ton of power I Will try with BBO at crosses at 25/23 or smth i think that would be dominant combo ,Pacific tough gut is not soft gut like others,that the reason why i didnt go higher on 18x19 string pattern.

Thanks! If RPM rough is erratic I will stay away from it. If you can control BBO at lower tension it’s probably better for your arm in the long run anyway..

 

[NewcomerfromBalkan]

Thanks! If RPM rough is erratic I will stay away from it. If you can control BBO at lower tension it’s probably better for your arm in the long run anyway..

Honestly,i did not play RPM Rough in full bed,just with gut.I wanted to put Gut mains Rough crosses(Like Thiem used to)but my stringer says that cant put rpm in crosses there are to mushy and said that did not do the best for crosses and Gut will fray to early.BBO is the best string on market for me.Personal opinion.Classic old school poly that allow you to swing a lot and put pace on the freely even at low tensions you do not be afraid to go long.Take a try.I will use for hybrid with gut as soon as possible.

 

[swinger]

I’ve been under the weather so haven’t played as much a I hoped to with my new racquets (TF 40 305 16x19) but wanted to post my initial impressions:

I strung one racquet with full bed of poly - ice code 1.2 @ 48 lbs.

The other hybrid with bablolat vs touch 17g natural gut @55 lbs on crosses and Kirschbaum Max Power 18g @ 50 lbs on mains.

Both racquets have similar level of power and control. They are both comfortable and I haven’t detected any stiffness at contact….To my surprise the racquet with full bed ice code 1.2 (poly) has more dwell time while the hybrid setup is more boardy.
Also with full bed of poly ball dips more… I can play with either but have a preference for full bed of poly given I can feel the ball on strings for longer and given higher access to spin…
I haven’t strung poly so low before (@48 lbs) and am really enjoying it…
I went with ice code because that’s how I demo’d the racquet so I wanted to opt for one racquet with a benchmark I was familiar with…
I will probably restring the hybrid setup and experiment with other comfortable poly strings to compare to ice code 1.2… maybe razor code @ even lower tension say 46 or 47 lbs as the string has similar level of comfort but is more control oriented and has greater spin potential…
Also going to try some of the other strings recommended here… will post impressions…

thanks!

 

[jimmy8]

Hyper G Soft - good control, good power, good feel, edges for spin, soft for comfort, good quality for consistency, reliability, tension maintenance. It's popular for a reason.